Ancient pottery discovered in the Bateen area of Abu Dhabi indicate that the island is 1,000 years older than previously believed, according to Gulf News daily.

Some of the artifacts have been dated to sometime between the third and seventh centuries A.D.

''The capital's residents can be certain...that they are living on an island whose history stretches far back into the pre-Islamic period,'' said a spokesman for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS). Until now, the age of the city had been based on British calculations made in the early 19th century. These calculations put the city's birth at 1761, following the arrival of settlers from the Liwa oasis.

The pottery had been collected by members of the Emirates Natural History Groups in the 1980s from an area close to the Bateen boatyard. Similar artifacts were found elsewhere along the coast, including the islands of Qarnain, Marawah, Ghagh and Yyasats.